and go to "Manage Layout" from the Blogger Dashboard??3. Click on the "Edit HTML" tab.??4. Delete the code already in the "Edit Template" box and paste the new code in.??5. Click "S BLOGGER TEMPLATES AND TWITTER BACKGROUNDS?

Tuesday, April 28, 2009

Cultures and religions across the world have developed a wealth of stories about the moon. To the Romans, the moon represented Diana the huntress. To the Nahua, the moon represented the beautiful Tecuciztecatl, God of the Conch Shell. To Wiccans, the phases of the moon represent the Goddess as she moves from Maiden to Mother to Crone. A fun way to teach kids about the moon and the mythos surrounding the moon is to make moon cookies.

Make sugar cookies (recipe below).

Decorate the cookies with powdered sugar icing in a small-tipped pastry tube, or with a tube of pre-packaged icing. Decorate the cookies with designs that represent the different stories surrounding the moon. For example, you could draw a bow and arrow representing Diana; an ankh representing Isis, Queen of the Heavens; or the face of a young girl representing the Maiden form of the Wiccan Goddess.

Discuss with your kids the stories and symbolism behind different conceptions of the moon. Be certain to explain the relevance of the moon within your own path. Take this as an opportunity to learn some new things for you. Some resources for stories about the moon include the following:

American Indian Myths and Legends selected and edited by Richard Erdoes and Alfonso Ortiz Circle Round: Raising Children in Goddess Traditions by Starhawk, Diane Baker, and Anne Hill The Goddess Path: Myths, Invocations and Rituals by Patricia Monaghan Wicca: A Guide for the Solitary Practitioner by Scott Cunningham Sugar Cookies

Beat butter and shortening with an electric mixer on medium to high speed for 30 seconds. Add the egg, sugar, milk, baking powder, vanilla, salt, and about half the flour. Beat until thoroughly combined. Beat in remaining flour. Divide dough in half. Cover and chill for 3 hours. On a lightly floured surface, roll half of the dough at a time 1/8 inch thick. Cut with a round cookie or biscuit cutter. If you would like to make crescent or Gibbous moon shapes, you should move your cookie cutter about 1 inch from the edge of a cut cookie and cut again. This will make one crescent and one Gibbous moon. Place on an ungreased cookie sheet and bake in a 375 degree oven for 7 to 8 minutes or until edges are firm and bottoms are very lightly browned. Fully cool cookies on a rack before decorating. Powdered Sugar Frosting

1 cup sifted powdered sugar¼ teaspoon vanillamilk or orange juice

Mix powdered sugar, vanilla and 1 tablespoon milk or juice. Add milk or juice 1 teaspoon at a time until desired consistency is reached. Spoon into pastry tube.

( Or you could just buy the already made sugar cookie dough, and shape into moon shapes!)

I am not sure who wrote this, but I thought it was beautiful and that any parent can relate.

How Love Raises Children*When you thought I wasn't looking, I saw you hang my drawing on the refrigerator, and I believed I had talent.

*When you thought I wasn't looking, I saw you make my favorite cake for me, and it wasn't even my birthday, and I knew that little things are special things.

*When you thought I wasn't looking, I felt you kiss me goodnight and pull the covers over my toes to be sure that I was warm, and I felt loved.

*When you thought I wasn't looking, I saw tears come fom your eyes, and I learned that sometimes things hurt, but it's all right to cry.

*When you thought I wasn't looking, I saw you become very angry, and stay calm and "use your words," and I learned to do that too.

*When you thought I wasn't looking, I saw you give my clothes that didn't fit anymore to those less fortunate, and I learned to reach out to others to help.

*When you thought I wasn't looking, I saw you read, just for enjoyment, and I learned to love books and learning.

*When you thought I wasn't looking, I saw you look at the full moon in the night sky and utter a prayer to the Goddess and I learned that She is always listening.

*When you thought I wasn't looking, I saw you hug a tree, and I learned to see beauty and comfort in Nature.

*When you thought I wasn't looking, I heard you sing as you washed the dishes, and I learned that work can bring great satisfaction.

*When you thought I wasn't looking, I saw you fail, and make mistakes, and I saw you keep doing your best, and I learned perseverence.

*When you thought I wasn't looking, I saw people you loved criticizing you for what you believed, but sill you continued to love them, and I learned tolerance.

*When you thought I wasn't looking, I saw you close your eyes when I blew out the candles on my birthday cake and I knew that you were wishing too, and I learned that it's okay for grown ups to believe in magicke.

*When you thought I wasn't looking, I saw that you cared and I wanted to be everything that I could be.

*When you thought I wasn't looking, I looked...and I wanted to thank you for being you and for all the things I saw when you thought I wasn't looking.

Thursday, April 9, 2009

Directions: 1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease cookie sheets.2. In a medium bowl, stir together the cake mix, eggs and oil until well blended. Fold in the chocolate chips. Roll the dough into walnut sized balls. Place the cookies 2 inches apart on the cookie sheet.3. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes in the preheated oven. Allow cookies to cool on baking sheet for 5 minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool completely.

Buttprints in the SandOne night I had a wondrous dream, One set of footprints there was seen,The footprints of the Goddess they were, But mine were not along the shore. But then some stranger prints appeared,and I asked Her, "What have we here? These prints are large and round and neat,But much too big to be from feet.""My child," She said in somber tones, "For miles I carried you alone. I challenged you to walk in faith, But you refused and made me wait." "You would not learn, you would not grow,The walk of faith, you would not know, So I got tired, I got fed up, And there I dropped you on your butt."Because in life, there comes a time, When one must fight, and one must climb, When one must rise and take a stand, Or leave their butt prints in the sand."Author unknown

Thursday, April 2, 2009

I have one of these near the entrance of my home, he is a beatiful black faceless angel.

Guardian Statue Household Protector SpellThe Roman festival of Compitalia honored the Lares for their help. The Lares are household hearth deities said to reside with each family as a type of protection. The story began with two children born from a liaison between the god Mercury and a mute Naiad named Laura, whose tongue had been cut out by the god Jupiter. The Lares became widely revered by Romans as house guardians and were depicted as monkeys covered in dog skins with a barking dog at their feet.Another Roman deity associated with the hearth and fire is the goddess Vesta. She too, became a popular household guardian, depicted as a woman of great beauty holding a lighted torch and a votive bowl. Her mortal attendants were the Vestal Virgins, who were selected for office of guardians of the sacred flame from the age of six for a minimum of 30 years, during which they were expected to maintain a vow of chastity on penalty of live burial. The Vestals dressed in white gowns trimmed in purple and were highly respected members of roman society, enjoying many privileges. During the Vestalia festivals, donkeys were decked with wreaths. Vesta worship was abolished by Emperor Theodosius in 380 AD.SUPPLIES: Guardian statue (or symbol) to become your household protector, incense, candle, water, salt, wandFirst, clean the statue from any dust or dirt. Light the incense; pass the statue through the smoke three times (or if the statue is too large to lift, pass the smoke three times around the statue) and say:“By the power of Air and incense,My Lare guardian statue is blessed.”Light the candle and pass the statue three times through the flame and say:“By the power of Fire and flame,My Lare guardian protects me from maim.”Sprinkle the statue with three drops of water and say:“By the power of Water and Sea,Of danger my Lare will warn me.”Finally, sprinkle your statue with three grains of salt and say:“By the power of salt and Earth,My Lare guardian now is birthed!”Pick up your wand and circle above the top of the statue three times and say:“By the power of Spirit and light,Negative entities my Lare will fight.”Now ask for the blessings from the goddess Vesta. Hold you statue up and say:“Vesta of the Hearth and FireYour blessings now I acquireOf my Lare GuardianLet not negativity in.Beautiful Vesta with Your torch,Negativity can’t make it past my porch.Lares and Vesta, please protect me,As my will, so mote it be!”Place the guardian statue in a place perfect to keep you property or house protected.

So here goes my story this beautiful, huge 2400 square foot house used to be mine.. In an attempt to downsize and become a stay at home mom, we are selling it and currently living in a small trailor ( approx 1200 sqaure feet). I am being asked by a lot of family and friends if it is upsetting. My answer is simply NO. I cannot see continuing to pay 900 dollar gas bills every month in the winter. In our new place all of our bills are equal to just about one house payment! And best of all I get to stay home and take care of my family, which includes my new 4 month old Daughter. My fibromyalgia has come back with a vengeance, so working would be out of the question soon anyways. Things are looking up none the less, and I am considering this move a blessing from my Spirit Guides.

Celebrate Ostara with the ridiculously silly Lesser Banishing Ritual of the Chocolate Rabbit.Sure, Ostara is a time to celebrate spirituality and the turning of the earth, but there's no reason we can't have a good time with it as well. If you've got kids -- or even if you don't -- this simple rite is a great way to welcome the season using some things that are readily available in the discount stores at this time of year!Bear in mind, this is meant to be fun and a little bit silly. If you think the Universe has no sense of humor, click the Back button on your browser immediately to exit this page.Difficulty: AverageTime Required: 20 minutesHere's How:1. For this ritual, you'll need the following:A bag of jellybeansMarshmallow Peeps -- chicks, bunnies, etc.A chocolate rabbit for each particpantA glass of milk for each participantArrange your ritual supplies on your altar so they look pretty. Kids can do this -- typically the chocolate rabbits end up in the center, surrounded by an army of Peeps and several rings of jellybeans. A quick note -- you might want to perform this ritual well in advance of mealtime, or all the kids will be too full of candy to eat a real dinner.2. First, give everyone present a handful of jellybeans. Point out the different colors in the jellybeans, and what they can represent. As you call out each one, eat the jellybeans in that color. Feel free to be a bit goofy. Say something like:Behold, little jelly eggs, small symbols of the season,How we adore you!Green is for the grass that springs from the land! (eat all the green jellybeans)Yellow is for the sun shining above our heads! (eat all your yellow jellybeans)Red is for the tulips that grow in our garden! (eat your red jellybeans) Pink is for Aunt Martha's new Easter hat! (eat your pink jellybeans)3. Purple is for the crocuses that sprout along our driveway! (eat the purple ones)…Continue this until all the colors are gone -- if you really want to have some fun, make the kids take turns naming off the colors and what they mean to them. When they're all gone, call out:Hail! Hail! to the mighty jelly bean of Spring!4. Next, hand out the marshmallow Peeps. As you do, say:Behold the Peep! The Peep is life, brought back in the spring!Little Peep chickens, we honor you! (bite the Peep chicks)Little Peep bunnies, we honor you! (bite the Peep bunnies)…Continue this until the Peeps are all gone -- it's probably a good idea to limit each kid to just two or three Peeps at the most. When the Peeps have all vanished, call out:Hail! Hail! to the mighty Peeps of Spring!Finally, distribute the chocolate rabbits. Say:Behold the great chocolate rabbit! As he hops through the land, he spreads joy and happiness!O, how we adore the chocolate rabbit and his great big chocolate ears! (eat the rabbit's ears)Praise the chocolate rabbit, and his delicious chocolate tail! (eat the rabbit's tail)Honor this chocolate rabbit, and his chocolate hoppity legs! (eat the rabbit's legs)He is a wonderful rabbit, and he is special indeed! (eat the rest of the rabbit)When the rabbits are all gone, say:Hail! Hail! to the mighty chocolate rabbit of Spring!Give everyone a glass of milk, and raise your drinks in a toast to these three symbols of the season.To the jelly beans!To the Peeps!To the chocolate rabbit!We drink in your honor!Drink your milk, and sit back to enjoy the sensation of being stuffed with ritual candy.What You Need:Jelly beansPeepsChocolate rabbitsMilk